Sports Shorts
ON THE AIR Friday Women’s basketball: Cal PolySLO at at Stanford, 7 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Prep football: Menlo-Atherton at Woodside, 7 p.m.; KCEA (89.1 FM)
Saturday College football: Stanford at USC, 5 p.m.; ABC (7); KNBR (1050 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)
Sunday Men’s basketball: Stanford at Denver, 11 a.m.; KNBR (1050 AM) Women’s basketball: UC Davis at Stanford, 2 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)
www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, visit www.PASportsOnline.com
Stanford’s Shayne Skov (11) and A.J. Tarpley (17) helped limit Oregon’s No. 2-ranked rushing attack to just 62 yards during the Cardinal’s 26-20 upset win last Thursday.
Stanford defense needs to dominate again by Rick Eymer evin Danser got a little excited when asked about Stanford’s important Pac12 Conference game with host USC on Saturday and used the word “dominant� as though he expected the fifth-ranked Cardinal to dominate the Trojans.
K
Leave it to team captain Shayne Skov, one of the most excitable players on a football field, to make sure the quote wasn’t going to be used as motivation on the USC campus. “Got to be careful with bulletin board material with that one,� Skov said. “We want to be
the best team in the Pac-12, and part of that means being the best team in the state. We take pride in dominance of the state. I’m not saying we do, but at the end of the season, if we do, we take pride in that. I’m just clarifying it.� Stanford (6-1 in the Pac-12, 8-1 overall) has won four straight over
USC and five of six overall heading into Saturday’s nationally televised showdown at 5 p.m. (ABC). Their games, however, have been anything but dominating by either side. Four of the past six meetings have been decided by eight points ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŁÂŽ
CCS TENNIS
CCS CROSS COUNTRY
Menlo School girls finally get a break
Unbeaten M-A, Gunn girls race for state berth
by Keith Peters enlo School girls tennis coach Bill Shine had a number of reasons to be happy with receiving the No. 1 seed for the 2013 Central Coast Section Team Tournament. First, the top spot placed the Knights in the bracket opposite of two-time defending champ Monta Vista, which has eliminated Menlo six times in the past 10 years. Second, history favors the No. 1 seed. Since 2003, the top team has won the section title seven times. “I am just happy we’re on the other side of the draw from Monta Vista,� Shine said. “They’re getting two players back and they probably have to be favored.� That could be true, despite the fact the Matadors are seeded only No. 3 this season due to having
by Keith Peters
M
ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŁÂŽ
T
John Hale
READ MORE ONLINE
ÂˆÂ“ĂŠ-Â…ÂœĂ€ÂˆÂ˜Ă‰ĂƒĂŒ>˜vÂœĂ€`ÂŤÂ…ÂœĂŒÂœÂ°Vœ“
NCAA SOCCER . . . Stanford will play host to Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the NCAA women’s soccer playoffs on Friday at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium at 7 p.m. The 64team NCAA tournament field was announced Monday and Stanford (13-5-1), which has reached the past five NCAA College Cup semifinals, was an at-large selection and most likely will travel if it gets past the Titans (8-6-7), the Big West tournament champions. If the seeds hold, the second and third rounds in Stanford’s quadrant will be at Pac-12 champion and Cardinal rival UCLA on Nov. 22 and 24. Stanford would play the winner of Furman-South Carolina in the second round and possibly UCLA in the third. Again, based on seeding, Stanford would play at North Carolina in the quarterfinals for the right to advance to the College Cup, Dec. 6 and 8, in Cary, N.C. . . . If the Stanford men’s soccer team receives a berth into the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years, it has Aaron Kovar to thank for it. Kovar scored a golden goal in the 92nd minute to lift the host Cardinal to a dramatic 2-1 victory over No. 5 California in the Pac-12 finale for both teams on Wednesday night. Kovar’s goal gave Stanford (3-5-2 in the Pac-12, 9-6-3 overall) some hope of gaining entrance into the NCAA tournament. The team will find out if it did enough when the NCAA selection committee reveals its choices on Monday morning. “We knew we had to win,� Kovar said. “We knew that losing wasn’t an option and I think the guys really had that attitude. I’m just proud of the guys and the way they rallied in overtime. We just pulled it out one way or another and still did it.� In the latest RPI rankings released Monday, Stanford ranked No. 41, though the win over the Bears should improve that rating. The Cardinal has played nine games against teams ranked among the top seven in the RPI ratings, with a 2-6-1 record in those games. For the second straight match the Cardinal needed overtime to seal the victory. This time it was Kovar picking up a loose ball and weaving his way into the box from 30 yards out, through four defenders before scoring.
M-A’s (L-R) Taylor Fortnam, Katie Beebe and Madeleine Baier hope to lead the Bears to a state meet berth at Saturday’s CCS finals.
he Gunn girls have not lost a cross-country meet this season, running to victories in league-wide meets and invitationals. Senior Sarah Robinson, meanwhile, also is unbeaten in all her races. While Robinson is favored to keep her unbeaten streak intact at the Central Coast Section Championships on Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont, the Titans as a team are on shaky ground. With only the top two girls teams in Division I advancing to the CIF State Meet, Gunn is looking at a possible third-place finish behind Monta Vista and Menlo-Atherton. “There are no time standards for the state meet,â€? said Gunn coach PattiSue Plumer. “Ugh. One of the best teams in CCS will be left ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŁÂŽ
ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ ÂœĂ›i“LiÀÊ£x]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 49